


Suddenly Swarming

by Ree_Dragon



Series: Beyond Their Star [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Blue Pearl is mute, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I know the canon but that's how it is for now, Trigger Warning: panic/anxiety, anything else is probably a spoiler and I might have gone too far with that as it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 21:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9788513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ree_Dragon/pseuds/Ree_Dragon
Summary: Steven goes to a sleepover at Connie's, leaving Lapis alone in the house until the other gems can return.  That's fine.  It's only for a night - what can possibly go wrong?





	

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Steven asked for what was probably the thousandth time that hour, setting yet another small stack of books on his bedside table.

“It’s just one night, right?” Lapis withheld a sigh and made an effort to keep her annoyance from slipping into her voice. “I can manage. We’ve been apart for longer than that, you know.”

“Yeah…” Steven gave her a smile that looked oddly strained compared to his usual cheerful expression. “I just want you to feel safe. You’ll be alone for at least a few hours - maybe more if the other gems’ missions don’t go as planned.”

“I’ll be _fine_ ,” Lapis’ toes dug into the sheet beneath her as she tried assuring him again. It was nice to be cared about, but sometimes he seemed to think she was more delicate than she was. She was a thousands of years old, and all but the last couple years or so had been lived without him. Granted, most of that time was spent as part of a mirror, but she’d survived all that time even in that horrid state. One night in his house without him wasn’t going to kill her. Besides, he’d still be in town. He was just going to visit his friend - Connie - for a while.  It would be no different than several of his daytime outings.  Just a little longer.

“Well… This should be enough books to get you through the night anyway, right?” Steven’s smile widened as he glanced down at the stacks of books he’d gathered for her. “And you’re welcome to watch the TV, or play games, or…whatever you want, really.” He glanced from the books to the door, and then to her. “You know where my dad works, right? He’d be happy to keep you company if you need it, and he knows my phone number so you can ask him to call me if you need me.”

Lapis nodded along with Steven’s words, swallowing down a comment when he brought up his dad. Hadn’t she hurt him during the ocean theft? But agreeing would probably get Steven to stop worrying about her.

“I guess that’s everything…” Steven hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders. “I mean it - help yourself to anything in the house, all right?”

Lapis nodded. “Have fun.”

“You too!” Steven beamed at her, and she sagged slightly in relief at seeing one of his usual genuine smiles. It seemed she’d managed to convince him she’d be okay. Good - he didn’t need to spend the night worrying about her. “Bye and good night!”

Lapis waved as Steven made his way out of the house and down to the beach. She slid off the bed and floated down to the door, watching until the boy was out of sight, and then sighed, looking around. This was it, then. She had the place all to herself for now. How did she want to use that time?

…Well, Steven had gone through the trouble of gathering some books she might like. She could start there. Maybe he’d even be back before she started missing him.

Lapis chuckled to herself. No, that wasn’t possible. It was already too late for that. But distracting herself _did_ usually help, so she flew back up to the loft and sat down on the bed, pulling the stacks of books toward her and looking them over. May as well start now, right? Only…which one should she read first?

After several minutes of arranging and rearranging the books on the bed and staring at the book covers in the vain hope that one would catch her attention, she settled for grabbing a book at random.  The rest were gathered and placed in neat stacks on the bedside table, and then she floated back down to the main floor, moving from there to the bench beside the window. There was a decent view of the beach from there, so it’d be easy to catch sight of Steven when he came back.

Once she was as comfortable as she could make herself, she opened the book, flipping through the beginning pages to the start of the actual story. Then…she gave it her best effort, but after reading the same paragraph five times and checking for Steven about twice as many times, she sighed and tossed the book away.

So much for reading.

The blue gem stood and forced herself away from the window. She couldn’t be there right now, or she wouldn’t be able to think of anything but her friend and how weird it was to be in his home without him for so long. She walked to the edge of the wooden floor, eying the kitchen area and the temple door. Food didn’t hold much interest to her without Steven or Amethyst goading her into eating, and she couldn’t go inside the temple even if she wanted to.  What else was there? She began to pace, glad she at least had the freedom to move around even if she didn’t really have her own home and purpose anymore.  She could still walk and fly, and attempt any activity that caught her interest.

So…what activity would catch her interest?

She’d almost decided on heading to the sky arena when her gaze fell on the bathroom door. That was a room she hadn’t spent much time in, and one Steven visited several times a day. She knew the bare basics of human necessities, but she didn’t have much in the way of details…maybe exploring would be a valuable learning experience?

Well, it was better than pacing Steven’s room the entire night. She headed into the bathroom and looked around. It was quite a bit smaller than she expected - how did someone like Greg even fit in here? And why did Steven keep one of his game systems in here?  She couldn’t spot any furniture that looked particularly comfortable.

At least it felt safe. She moved past the toilet and the sink - the latter of which had a towel draped over part of the wall above it for some reason - and stepped into the tub, sitting on the edge. This reminded her of the stories Steven and Amethyst told her - about Peridot escaping the temple and being a prisoner in this room for a while before they’d all formed a truce to deal with the cluster - and she found herself smiling. She really shouldn’t be amused that the small green gem had scalded herself while scrambling around like an idiot, but she found it hard to feel guilty. That was one of the gems who had attacked Steven and willingly kept them all captive - she wouldn’t be forgetting that fact anytime soon, even if Steven already had.

Lapis shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Peridot was about the last thing she wanted to think about tonight. Instead, she focused on the tub, scooting toward the knobs that controlled the water. It was like a sink. A really…big sink that humans washed themselves in. They were a weird species…

The blue gem turned the knobs, experimenting with the temperature until she found a suitable one. She then plugged the tub and slid inside. It was still weird, but she felt safe in here, and it might be nice to soak for a while. Besides, if something threatening _did_ come in before Steven got back, she’d be able to defend herself. At least, this thing should easily hold enough water for her to make a couple clones.

Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad. If she just stayed right here and distracted herself somehow, she’d have her friend back before she knew it. She just had to find something to occupy until then.  Or…maybe she’d have enough focus when she got bored here to return to reading.

She let out an amused snort. That shouldn’t be too hard, given what she had to work with in here. Besides, the water was feeling nicer the more it filled the tub. She could see why Steven sometimes took longer than an hour in here.

Lapis leaned back against the narrower wall of the tub and focused on the water pouring near her feet. After a moment, it stopped filling the tub and started spiraling upward, stopping near the ceiling and forming into a sphere as more water flowed to the top of the room. One silent command later, and the sphere stopped filling with water and started to break up into a school of fish that swam around the room. She watched them as they moved along the walls and started playing with their shapes, adjusting the body length or fin size of a few random fish.

 _I should do this for Steven._ She smiled to herself at the thought of Steven’s reaction. _He loves this stuff._ But then, he loved whenever any of them used magic. It didn’t seem to matter what kind of magic was used, or how mundane the purpose was. She didn’t know if that was a human thing or a Steven thing, but it was nice to see him happy so she was glad to oblige.

When each fish looked different from its sisters, she stopped adjusting them and contented herself with directing them, moving them away from the walls and around various objects in the room - spiraling around the curtain rod and racing around and above the toilet and sink, accidentally knocking the towel down in the process. Eh, she’d worry about that when she was done in here.

After a few minutes of this, she lined them up and sent them diving into the toilet, allowing them to merge with the water there until the toilet threatened to overflow and sending the rest into the sink. She didn’t want to make a mess of Steven’s home if she could help it, especially since he now lived with two Pearls who seemed personally offended whenever a stray speck of dust caught their attention or anything was placed anywhere other than where it should be. As it was, she was going to have to check the floor when she was done in here to make sure she’d cleaned up all the water. She might have let the tub get a bit fuller than it should be - at least, she was pretty sure the drain in the side was meant to keep it from lapping at the edges like it was.

…Yeah, maybe she should turn the water off, now. She leaned forward - directing the water to hover above the tub rather than splash onto the floor - and turned the knobs to stop the water. She leaned back again once she was done, adjusting the bow at the back of her neck in an attempt to make herself more comfortable.

So…now what did she want to do? Using her powers for fun rather than defense was nice, but it really was better with an audience. Maybe she should go ahead and get out of here. There was a chance someone tolerable was home, even if the chance was slight. At least, Blue was nice enough company, and Amethyst and Peridot weren’t too horrible in small doses. The latter had been trying particularly hard to make friends with her - displaying behaviors that were so at odds with the Peridot she’d met back on Homeworld that she couldn’t bring herself to believe any of it was genuine.

But…her mind was getting away from her. What was she trying to do again?

…Oh, right. She unplugged the drain, pulled herself to her feet, and stepped out of the tub, dispelling the water from her form.  She then made her way to the sink and bent down to collect the towel so she could place it back where it had been.

That was her intent, but instead she found herself frozen as soon as she stood straight again.  There - right in front of her.  That was…her. Right there in the mirror.

_No._

_No, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!_

For that moment, the world seemed to have frozen with her, but now it was in full motion, rushing at her again and again before exploding into tiny reflective fragments that stung her hands and face. The world seemed to lift and sink simultaneously before going dark, but she didn’t need to see to feel the gazes on her.

_No, no, no, no_ _…_

A muffled noise sounded from…somewhere, and she thought she could hear footsteps somewhere nearby. Were more gems gathering around her? She could almost hear the voices, demanding to know the location of the Crystal Gem base and their leader. She wished she could back up - wished she could do anything - but mirrors couldn’t move.

“No, no, I don’t know! I’m sorry, I don’t know! I’m not one of them!”

The footsteps quickened and grew louder until they seemed to be right beside her. Then they stopped, and she felt a gentle weight on her shoulders - her body, that couldn’t possibly exist - that moved down her arms and stopped briefly at her hands before stroking the length of her fingers.

So…her body did exist right now. That meant she wasn’t trapped in the mirror, so…what was happening? Lapis opened her eyes - wondering when she’d even closed them - and stared at the long nose inches from her own, poking out of a mess of pale hair.

“Blue?”

The other gem stopped stroking her fingers and tilted her head up slightly, giving Lapis a strained smile. Lapis let out a shaky sigh and pulled away…or tried to. Blue gripped her hands and shook her head, and Lapis frowned. Why wasn’t she allowed to move?  When she stopped resisting, Blue wrapped her fingers around something in her arm.  She winced as something stung the area, and then a shard of something was pulled away, and Blue moved on to the next piece, then the next.

“Is everything all ri—” Pearl trailed off mid-word as she entered the bathroom. Blue paused in her task to turn to her and wave her away, and she backed out of the room, offering them a strained smile.

So Pearl was here. Peridot probably was, as well. Wonderful. At least Blue had found her first, if it couldn’t be Steven.

A few moments and several removed shards later, Blue stood up slowly and tried pulling Lapis to her feet.  The darker gem let her - she didn’t want to spend the night on the bathroom floor, anyway - and followed her as they moved out of the room and toward the sofa. The house seemed to wobble with each step, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to still the world around her. Blue was her friend - Lapis could trust her to make sure she didn’t run into anything.

Blue stopped and guided Lapis into a sitting position. The darker gem kept her eyes closed - she did not want to know who else was around to see her like this. She sighed as the sofa cushioned her back and lower body and tried to think about something happy. Something that didn’t involve her life before being trapped or meeting Steven.

Unfortunately, she had precious few memories that fulfilled all those requirements.

“Here, drink this.” Pearl’s voice was gentle and quiet, and Lapis had to strain to understand the words. Something smooth was pressed into her hands, and she cracked one eye open to see a mug full of a sweet-smelling warm liquid.

“It’s peppermint tea,” Pearl explained after a moment. “It’s supposed to be calming, at least for humans. I’m not entirely sure the effect will be the same for gems, but it won’t hurt to try.”

“Why?”  Lapis narrowed her eyes at the white gem. This was the gem that had imprisoned her.  She’d been friendly thanks to Steven’s influence, but he wasn’t here right now.

Pearl blushed and stammered, but Lapis’ focus was only on her for a moment. A light tap on her arm distracted her, and she turned to find Blue frowning at her. She sighed and stared down at the tea. Blue really was too trusting…but whatever. Pearl probably wouldn’t do anything to hurt her as long as Steven was still a factor in anything. They both loved Steven, and Steven loved both of them. Either of them hurting the other would hurt him, and that was something they both tried to avoid.

Besides, it _did_ smell good…

Lapis brought the cup to her lips and took a sip. The liquid was hot almost to the point of burning her tongue, but other than that it wasn’t bad. She let the taste linger in her mouth for a moment and then swallowed, trying to ignore the pleased smile on Blue’s face and the arm resting on her shoulders. They were both trying to help her, in their own way. She knew that, and she knew she should be grateful. Right now, though, she felt more irritated than anything.

But…she didn’t feel afraid, anymore. Or trapped. She wasn’t sure if it was time, the comfort, or the drink that was helping, but - whatever it was - she supposed she welcomed it.

A noise near the bathroom caught her attention and she turned in time to see Pearl disappear inside with a broom and dustpan. Oh, right…she’d made a mess and broken one of Steven’s things. She’d have to apologize for that when he returned…and he’d probably have to know what happened. Lapis set the teacup down and curled up against the back of the sofa. She would not be looking forward to that talk…

A hand lightly gripped her shoulder, and she glanced at her companion. Blue was staring right at her, head tilted.

“I’m fine.” And…wow, she didn’t sound it, even in her head. Her tone sounded drained and a little angry, and she mentally swore at herself. She was stronger than this! The Lapis she’d been before the war would never have lost her mind over a completely normal, harmless mirror.

A mirror she wouldn’t have even seen if she hadn’t been stupid with her powers earlier. Ugh…she deserved this.

Pearl re-entered the room and returned her cleaning tools to their proper places, dumping the broken mirror shards in a trash can on her way. Then she rejoined Lapis and Blue, crouching behind the table. “Do you need anything?  We can get Steven if you—”

“No!” Lapis bit back a hiss, and suddenly it was hard to look at either of her companions. “He needs to be able to spend time with his friends without worrying about me.”

“All right…” Pearl sighed and stood back up, collecting the tea cup and placing it in the sink. When she returned, she sat beside Lapis, and Lapis tensed. What was she doing?

But all Pearl did was sit there, and - after a moment - Lapis relaxed. Well…as much as she was able. The other gems’ company still unsettled her, but she was in no state to make demands for either Pearl to leave her alone. Right now, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to be alone. What if those feelings resurfaced? And, if she was completely honest with herself, they’d both helped her more than she would have thought them capable. She still hurt, but she could probably walk without collapsing, and her mind was relatively close to what passed as clear for her.

“Why are you helping me now?” Lapis asked after a moment, when it occurred to her that she hadn’t been answered coherently before. “Steven’s not here. He’s not going to know.”

Pearl jerked as Lapis started talking, staring at her with wide, startled eyes. Then she winced. Lapis knew she should feel bad - Pearl hadn’t done anything bad to her since her time as a mirror - but it was hard to feel anything for the gem that had kept her as a possession for thousands of years, no matter how she’d acted since then.

“I’m sorry. I know our treatment of you as been deplorable…” It was a good couple minutes before Pearl spoke, and when she did her voice was careful and hesitant, like she was taking great care to choose her words before speaking them. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you - any of it - and if we’d known you were still intact enough to save…”

“You would have kept me prisoner anyway because I’m a Homeworld gem and a threat,” Lapis pointed out.

A pair of hands wrapped around her shoulders in a light hug, and Lapis fought the urge to shrug them off - it was just Blue trying to offer comfort, and Lapis’ comment had probably upset her. It was true though, especially by the way Pearl blushed and stammered.

“That’s not…we wouldn’t…well…” Pearl sighed. “I can’t say what we would have done without Rose here to say one way or the other, but…” She stared down at her hands, which were folded neatly in her lap. “Whatever we might have done, we’re all very glad Steven made friends with you. I know you don’t want to officially join the Crystal Gems, and that’s…fine. The important thing is how you treat Steven, and you’ve done very well by him. You went out of your way to protect him - twice - even though doing so cost you…well…everything. We know we can trust you because we know you will do everything in your power to protect this planet, even if it’s only for Steven’s sake.”

Her gaze lifted again, almost meeting Lapis’ eyes as she continued. “And…you can trust us, too. I know you can’t feel it right now, and that’s understandable, but everyone here cares about you. As long as you’re with us, someone will always be on your side.”

Laughter followed those words - laughter that didn’t sound like her own and wouldn’t have felt like it either, if not for the fact that she could feel her upper body shaking along with the sound. The fit only lasted for a moment or two, but it left her feeling sore and achy…or maybe that was from breaking Steven’s mirror. She didn’t know, and it hurt to think too hard on anything right now.

There was a tap on her shoulder, and Lapis turned to see Blue staring at her, head tilted. Lapis shook her head and drew in a breath, letting it out in a huff. “Don’t worry.”

“I should get going. Peridot’s expecting me back at the barn.” Pearl stood, and Lapis turned back toward her. “Is there anything you need?”

Lapis shook her head and tried to hide the relief that washed over her. They’d probably helped as much as they could at this point, so she’d rather not continue talking about this, anymore. Not here, not now, and not with Pearl. She’d tolerated it because the pale gem was trying to help, but if she had to discuss something this personal with someone, she’d really rather it be Steven. That meant it could wait until he was back and had time for her.

“Well, you know where to find us if that changes.” Pearl walked to the warp pad and turned to face her. “Don’t be afraid to ask for anything, all right? I know the past several thousand years have been particularly horrible for you, but we understand a little better than you might think.”

Lapis doubted it, but she really wasn’t up to arguing the point. She nodded again, and Pearl disappeared in a column of light, leaving Lapis and Blue alone in the house. Blue climbed to her feet and jumped onto the loft, but Lapis didn’t follow her. She wasn’t in the mood for whatever Blue had decided to amuse herself with. She just wanted to stay there and think for a while, and she closed her eyes to do just that, ignoring the rustling going on above her.

…Not that that was a particularly pleasant activity. Thoughts of mirrors and accusations and a home ruined by thousands of years of technological advancement swam through her head. They were muted compared to earlier, but she couldn’t sort through them or ignore them. They were just there, filling the outer reaches of her consciousness and preventing her from finding any real peace.

At least she was used to that.

Something tapped her right hand, and she opened her eyes to see Blue smiling at her, holding a book out for her to take. Lapis looked between the other gem and the book. It was one of the thicker ones Steven owned. Blue’s fingers were obscuring too much of the title to read it, but she saw the girl and falcon on the cover and knew immediately what it must be. Still…

“I already tried reading today. I couldn’t focus.” She tried to hand the book back, but Blue pushed it toward her again and tapped Lapis on the lips. Lapis moved to swat the paler gem’s hand away, but she’d already moved back, settling on the sofa a couple feet away and facing her. What was she—oh. Now Lapis understood. “You want me to read to you?”

Blue beamed at her and nodded, growing still as she waited.

Lapis sighed and shook her head. There was really no point in fighting it. Maybe she could pay better attention if she read the story out-loud, anyway. In any case, it wouldn’t hurt her to try a few lines. She took a deep breath and opened the book, skimming past the first few junk pages to the start of the story. Then she began to read, letting the words and her own voice slowly push her problems to the back of her mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'm not dead! I've just been REALLY busy! I've been working with an organization to try and find work (no luck so far), but something happened that I don't really wanna get into. Long story short - I'm moving to a new state this year! We're in a hurry and this wasn't exactly planned, so I've been focused on getting our room clean and our stuff gathered and organized so we can pack. I will continue to write through this time, but it's going to be slow-going. Sorry.
> 
> This wasn't the next story I'd planned. I was having trouble getting back into any writing with all the stuff going on here, and my wife suggested I write a quick one-shot about Lapis, so I went ahead with that. There are a handful of one-shots and one short story in various stages of completion on my computer, and I hope to have at least one more story up before the move. We'll see how things go, I guess. I also have a new story not related to this series that's insisting on being worked on, and I hope to make real progress with that soon so I can show it off. Wish me luck!
> 
> Quick thing I forgot - Blue is still mute in this. I have seen all the new episodes, but that's just how this is for now. I may or may not give her a voice later - I'm waiting for this series to tell me what it wants to do with her. If I do end up making her voiced, I have an idea how to do it, but that's as far as that has gone. I figured this would turn into an AU pretty quickly after the Gem Drill arc (and it did, with Lapis and Peridot living in the barn and getting along faster than I would have done it), so I was prepared to accept canon and my series not lining up perfectly.


End file.
